I still recall that day vividly. I remember when those strange new days began—days completely detached from logic and reality. I remember our meeting with the honorable teacher who changed the course of our lives, and the vibrant intensity of every moment we shared. I... no, all of us, will certainly never forget.
「...You are as devoted as ever.」
I offer flowers to our old school building. Just three stalks of deep crimson spider lilies.
「He looks so happy laughing like that: Nurufufufu.」
「...Spider lilies? You seem quite fond of these flowers.」
「It's true. He smiles every time "Nozaki" visits.」
「Well, I don't dislike them. They were the first flowers whose meaning I ever looked up.」
「...You two are truly annoying!」
「I looked up the meaning myself when I saw you leave them here before. As I recall, the impression wasn't exactly positive. They seemed more like an omen of death or something tied to grim urban legends.」
「What do they actually mean?」
「The language of flowers is nothing more than interpretation.」
「Meanings change with the colors, but the interpretation for these is...」
What feelings did I entrust to this flower? I will leave that to whoever sees them, to interpret as they wish.
「I was told, "I look forward to seeing you again." That was seven years ago.」
I still remember... no, I am certain I will never forget the day I met him, nor the time we spent together, no matter how much time passes. I will carry those memories until I die.
「...Yes. Let's all look forward to that day.」
Seven years have passed since then. On this seventh spring anniversary—specifically, the day we killed Koro-sensei—I took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling as though I were renewing my spirit with every molecule of air leaving my lungs. Yet, the emotional sting of grief never truly fades; I have never grown used to it.
「But don't come to us too early... Keiichi.」
「Keiichi. It's time, isn't it? It would be disrespectful to be late for a meeting with your esteemed teacher.」
「Has it really been that long?」
「Practical cooperation with the Ministry of Defense... I never imagined our middle school ties would bring us back together like this. Shall we call this the "bond between teacher and student"?」
「You aren't far off yourself. All those people who now call me "President," "Commander," or "Reaper"—weren't they all originally enemies? In fact, you were their leader.」
「Heh... that is undeniably true. If I had told my younger self that I would be defeated by middle schoolers and then follow them for seven consecutive years, I never would have believed it.」
The moon, once our symbol—which lost seventy percent of its mass and became a permanent crescent—no longer hangs in the sky I gaze at now. There is nothing left but the shattered remains of a moon that crumbled under its own weight. I cannot deny feeling a certain loneliness.
「Let's go; the time has come. I don't want to be seen as someone who disregards appointments while running a company. That would be unacceptable.」
「You have mastered the role of secretary perfectly, sir.」
「I am secretary and bodyguard at once. By the way, I recently placed first in the secretarial proficiency exam and the accounting certification. Learning what benefits the business is truly enjoyable.」
「Right, right... you've clearly put in a massive effort, man.」
Sometimes, I see it in my dreams. I see the day we met Sensei, the days we spent with everyone, meeting my other self, and even the day we killed him.
I looked away from the moon in the sky.
Until a few years ago, Koro-sensei's memory was a painful burden, but I am now able to move forward, using those memories as fuel. In fact, I must move forward.
So that I may look forward to meeting him again one day.
「By the way, what was your first meeting with him like? Despite everything, I've never actually heard the story from you, have I?」
「Oh, are you actually interested?」
「The roots of the strength of the man I've dedicated myself to... no one in our department—I mean, our company—wouldn't want to know that.」
「I see. Then, on our way to the Ministry of Defense, let's entertain ourselves by revisiting the past.」
So, today I will tell the story of those days.
My meeting with the teacher who changed me, my interactions with my comrades, the day I received life advice from the masters of living, leading up to the days of their farewell. I will tell what happened on that day I turned fifteen.
「Do your best, Nozaki.」
「...On that day────」
「One day, let me praise you once more.」
●○●○●
「Nice to meet you. I am the culprit who blew up the moon, and I plan to blow up the Earth next year. I have become your homeroom teacher, so I hope we get along.」
Suddenly, a completely unidentifiable creature appeared before us—the outcasts of Class 3-E. He had an octopus-like yellow body, a wide mouth shaped like a crescent, and small, round eyes. If someone had told us an alien had landed on Earth, we would have believed it without hesitation.
「I am Karasuma from the Ministry of Defense. First, I want you to understand that everything said here is a state secret.」
Then, a well-built man with stern features appeared, claiming to belong to the Ministry of Defense, accompanied by several subordinates.
On the day they arrived, our monotonous daily lives shifted into an extraordinary reality thick with the intent to kill, all because of a single sentence Mr. Karasuma uttered:
「I'll get straight to the point. I want you to kill this monster!」
It was a sudden request for murder. A one-way ticket to an unfamiliar world, issued by someone working for the Ministry of Defense—an entity supposed to suppress violence and homicide, not incite it.
Who could have expected this? The moon explodes, seventy percent of its mass evaporates, the perpetrator becomes our teacher, and the Ministry of Defense asks us to assassinate him?
「...Excuse me, what on earth is this? Is it an invading alien or something?」
「How rude! I was born and raised on Planet Earth, just like you!」
「(Liar...)」
「I apologize that I cannot disclose the details, but everything this creature said is true. He destroyed the moon, and he will destroy the Earth next March.」
「Are you joking?」
「Only world leaders know of this. We are working hard to kill him secretly before the world descends into panic. In other words—this is an assassination.」
With those final words, Mr. Karasuma drew a knife from his suit with blinding speed and lunged at the supernatural being. However, the attack was effortlessly evaded; the monster remained standing, as energetic as ever. Mr. Karasuma continued his relentless sequence of attacks, but every one failed as the opponent dodged them all.
How many times did he thrust that knife in a single second? After Mr. Karasuma's initial movement, my eyes could no longer keep up. I only realized the attack had been dodged when I saw him move for the next strike.
Before our eyes, a fight beyond human capability was unfolding. A strong, stern man, undoubtedly trained far beyond amateurs like us, was being toyed with like an infant. In the tiny window of time between dodging and preparing the next strike, the monster had actually groomed Mr. Karasuma's eyebrows!
As I watched them, a question came to mind: Can a creature like this really be killed?
「This thing is too fast! Instead of dying, he dodges my attacks even when I lunge like this, and I end up with perfectly groomed eyebrows!」
Veins pulsed in Mr. Karasuma's forehead from rage, while the monster increased his speed and focus on the grooming as if mocking him.
I began to doubt whether what I was seeing was real.
「This creature, who possesses the power to turn a full moon into a crescent, has a top speed of Mach 20! This means if he seriously tries to run, we won't even be able to touch him until the moment the Earth is destroyed!」
It sounded like the plot of a cheap monster movie, but seeing the afterimages and shadows he left behind while constantly evading Mr. Karasuma, I realized his words were neither hyperbole nor exaggeration.
At the same time, it seemed strange to me. Why did he bother coming to this place—a dumping ground for outcasts—to work as a teacher?
「Excuse me, why does a monster like this insist on teaching us specifically? I don't understand why the Earth will be destroyed next year, but assuming he's gathering his strength to do it, wouldn't it be better for him to run? His speed is Mach 20, right? What's the point of staying here?」
「Nurufufufu, a very good question.」
The question I asked by reflexively raising my hand was met with a strange laugh and words of praise.
As if he had been waiting for this very question, he scanned the students of Class 3-E, packed away the grooming tools he was using on Mr. Karasuma, and answered:
「Constantly running at Mach 20 is quite boring. So, I made a proposal to the government: I don't want to be killed so easily, but I have no objection to being the homeroom teacher for Class 3-E at Kunugigaoka Junior High School.」
The creature placed his hand—or rather, his "tentacle"—rudely on Mr. Karasuma's shoulder, providing an answer that only sparked more questions. I'm certain the rest of my classmates screamed "Why?!" in their heads simultaneously.
Furthermore, how did the government agree to such a proposal? I glanced at the people claiming to be from the Ministry of Defense, and our eyes met.
「We don't understand what this thing is after. However, the government was forced to agree to this proposal for two reasons: First, as long as he is a teacher, we can confine his movements to this school and monitor him. More importantly, the second reason: it gives nearly thirty people the chance to kill him from a very close distance.」
He seemed to realize what I wanted to say and explained the situation with unexpected detail.
「We made him promise, as a condition for teaching, that he would not harm any of you students. Should any emergency threaten your safety, we will never let it happen.」
「Well, if the Earth disappears, there's no point talking about safety and security anyway.」
「...Don't say such unsettling things. For now, I want you to believe that this thing will not harm you. You may not trust us, but the state will do everything in its power to ensure your safety.」
It was a suspicious, bizarre development—a story that had become detached from reality, or rather, completely severed from it.
I wanted to ask how the state would protect us from a Mach 20 monster, but Mr. Karasuma spoke with such intensity and sincerity, trying to make eye contact with each of us.
Even though he just looked us in the eye and spoke, his words somehow felt more genuine than those of my father or any other teacher at this school, making me feel that I could trust him.
「And this is an assassination request. Since we are asking you to do this as a job, there will naturally be a reward. The success fee is ten billion yen! That is the amount that will be paid to whoever manages to kill this creature.」
「Ten... ten billion...?!」
「It is a reasonable amount. Killing him means saving the Earth; this is no joke.」
Gasps of shock erupted at the mention of the figure, but everyone was convinced after hearing Mr. Karasuma's explanation. Indeed, if this monster were to destroy the Earth next year, killing him wouldn't just mean saving eight billion humans, but every living thing and the planet itself.
Saving the world... a phrase I thought I'd only hear in manga, anime, or games had become a reality.
Yet, if I thought about it, wasn't ten billion yen a bit low? If we only considered humans, a ten-billion-yen reward means roughly "one yen" per person.
Was my thinking like this simply because I was a frustrated, cynical person?
「Fortunately, this creature completely underestimates you. Look—when those green horizontal stripes appear on his face, it means he's mocking you.」
「What kind of skin is that?!」
Several green horizontal stripes appeared on the yellow octopus's face, and his features took on a very clear, mocking grin. Yes, there was no need to look at his face color; it was blatantly obvious he was looking down on us.
「That's only natural, isn't it? If the state is incapable of killing me, it's impossible for you to succeed. Last time the latest fighter jets attacked me... I waxed their airframes in mid-air!」
「Why do you insist on performing maintenance...?!」
He was a supernatural being of endless wonders. But wait—waxing a high-speed fighter jet? Wouldn't dust and debris stick to the wax before it dried, making it dirtier than before?
「As you can see, this creature underestimates you to the extreme. We hope you will exploit any opening he might show. We will provide you with knives, air guns, and special plastic pellets. They are harmless to humans but effective and lethal specifically against this creature.」
As soon as he finished speaking, his subordinates pushed forward wheeled carts.
The carts carried knives with green handles and containers filled with pink plastic pellets and air guns.
「This is an absolute secret; sharing it with friends or family is strictly forbidden. All information given here is a state secret. Regardless, we have no time. If you don't kill him before next year, the Earth will vanish. If that happens, there will be nowhere to run. Even fleeing to space will be futile.」
Sweat appeared on Mr. Karasuma's forehead. Everything he said was clearly true. I could sense the anxiety and confusion in his tone.
「That is the situation. So, ladies and gentlemen, let's make the remaining year productive!」
Before this supernatural monster who declared his challenge loudly and provocatively, all the students of the class stood stunned, comparing the knives and air guns they had received. Their minds were not yet able to process the situation.
But time waits for no one. Ultimately, without understanding anything or knowing left from right, we took the equipment distributed that day. And so, we, the students of Class 3-E at Kunugigaoka Junior High School... became assassins.